A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by CoolerMaster to try out a couple of new products they had received. My box arrived in perfect condition (from Hong Kong no less) and when I opened it I got my first look at the three products CoolerMaster had sent.
After opening the box I was very excited to try these products. We received an ATA, and floppy cable, as well as an aluminum mouse pad. They got definite style points for their good looks.
The IDE cable is a little longer than the ATA spec but as can be seen below the read speed wasn’t severely affected.
Regular High Density 80 lead IDE cable
CoolerMaster rounded cables
Sequential speeds were very close, and well within our margin for error. Unlike some other round cables we've looked at in previous reviews, we didn't seem to encounter any read/write errors. The leads are sheathed with an aluminum mesh to keep down interference and then covered in a clear vinyl casing.
I thought the pull tabs were a nice touch. With regular cables there is just nothing to grab but the wires to pull the connector off. The tabs allow you to pull directly on the plug to get the cable off. Nice.
The floppy cable follows the same design as the ATA cable. There isn't too much to say other than it works. Since floppy drive benchmarks probably won't interest you, we'll omit those.
The Mouse Pad
The next product I received was the 10th Anniversary solid aluminum mouse pad. When I received this I thought it was a great idea! It would be a great match for any aluminum case. I only had two complaints about the pad. First, it is a little small for use when gaming as demonstrated by the handy Hercules GF2MX I had sitting around. Gamers who already own the Ratpadz, fUNC, or Everglide will probably not bother with this pad as there simply isn't enough surface area for the hardcore gamer.
Secondly, I had trouble with my optical mouse due to the reflectivity of the pad but YMMV. Most older optical mice will probably not work, although the newer Microsoft and Logitech mice may have some more success.
Another problem may be the availablity of this mouse pad. We have been informed at the time of testing the pad that this may not be a retail product available for sale. Cooler Master may package it as a bonus gift or something, but at this time, we'd be hard pressed to tell you where you can buy this product.
Conclusions
As with most rounded cables, whether or not you need them will depend on how you feel about internal case cleaniness. Although you can do a neat job tidying the interior of the case with origami cabling work, most people probably just let them dangle. Round cables do "reduce" the clutter, however, unless you plan on routing them properly, they will still look a little messy. In any case, looking at silver cables though a case window does look a lot nicer than flat grey ones.
The Good: The cables are a great way to clean up the interior of your case and let the air flow through which will help keep your case cooler.
The Bad: Cooler Master didn’t follow the ATA length spec—but what the hell, it’s only a standard.
The mouse pad is an interesting idea, but not something many users will find terribly useful. It is a bit spotty with older optical mice, and it doesn't provide much in the ways of surface area. It is unique though, and if you simply want a mousepad to match your aluminum case, this is it.
The Good: It looks great, there is just no way around it. It is also a very original idea. Congrats on 10 years Cooler Master!
The Bad: Spotty with optical mice.
